★ BIRTH DATE / 6, December, 1960
★ BLOOD STATUS / Muggleborn
★ PRONOUNS & IDENTITY / she/her; cis female
★ FACECLAIM / Luca Hollestelle
★ PRIMARY SCHOOL / Cambridge Academy, class of 1979
★ ACADEMIC PURSUITS / Social Sciences degree, Undecided cohort
★ HOUSE & YEAR / Gryffindor, first year
★ A beautiful mind, a brush and canvas in hand, a passion for the dramatic arts and an unending boldness at her every move and word. Add to the mix magical abilities, and Camille Gladstone was quite the sight to see, with her fiery red hair framing sharp, attentive eyes. Yet somehow it felt to the girl as though no one could quite get her, see the beauty of who she was, appreciate it. All her life, she always felt, in one way or another, below her colleagues – a penniless muggleborn in Cambridge Academy, the teacher’s daughter in a bougie Oxford elementary school. Connecting with people wasn’t easy in these scenarios, and the constant rejection left her feeling insufficient, yearning for a sense of belonging. Still, Camille always felt she could see through the people around her with a puzzling mix of pity and admiration, finding relief as she transposed that into her art. Coming into her first year in Hogwarts university and being sorted into Gryffindor, the most admirable of houses, in her view, felt as a well-asked-for breath of fresh air. It could finally be the chance of being surrounded by like-minded people who appreciated her, so heaven knows she will try to relish this chance. She has a particular interest in charms, magizoology and, of course, the arts in every form.
★ Up until her Wizarding coming-of-age, at eleven years old, Camille lived a very ordinary, provincial life as the only child of a lower-middle class Christian couple in Kidlington, Oxfordshire. Most days, you would find her laid into the grass of their minuscule backyard, watching closely as the ants and squirrels went about their business, all while sensing a quaint understanding of their every move and motivation. Or else, in her mother’s company, when the woman read Camille a book by the side of her bed, or when they cooked lemon zest cookies to the sound of the latest Beatles’ track on the radio in a Saturday afternoon. Motherly love oozed by the gallons into Camille’s life all throughout her childhood. In fact, the girl spent so much time with her mother that she assimilated many of her qualities and tastes – a deep artistic sensibility, a sharp understanding of others’ psyches and an undying loyalty for the people she loved and cared about. This was never a vast group, though. Camille never managed to bond with many friends at the school she attended, an elite private school in Oxford where her mother’s job as an arts teacher granted her a full scholarship. Her bond with her father was also quite loose, as she didn’t appreciate his dominating personality, which often manifested into bursts of anger and a tight control over her mother’s personal and professional life. The man was employed at a local bank in a low-ranking job where he worked long, tiresome hours, which kept him detached from his family. Camille always felt a slight, distant sense of resentment from him.
★ Camille’s godfather was an old family friend named Eustace Merk, who unexplainedly grew more and more distant to the Gladstones after the girl was born – Eustace was always described to her as an incredibly clever man who built great renown and prestige around him throughout his career. In her childhood, he would send her beautiful gifts and join them for sporadic dinners, occasions which grew more and more rare with the passing of the years. Camille’s father wasn’t all fond of him, although he could see the practical benefit of having a wealthy godfather to his daughter, naturally. When she was about five years old, he moved to Cambridge, to teach at the university, for all the Gladstones knew. You can imagine their surprise when they found Eustace at their Kidlington home years later, arriving unannounced for Camille’s eleventh birthday. The couple rushed to setup a nice linen cloth on the table and dust off the furniture, but Eustace’s focus was driven to the girl, not dinner time. He sat with her and wanted to know more about who she had turned into, all these past years. After the talk, he told her something unimaginable – his position in Cambridge was not as a Professor at the University, but rather as Headmaster of a notable Primary School named Cambridge Academy. And Cambridge Academy was not… an ordinary school. It was a school for gifted witches and wizards who were born displaying magical capabilities. Upon hearing this, the thought of this being a joke ran through Camille’s mind, but her godfather’s fixed expression and grave tone, paired with the unusualness of having him in her living room couch inspired a great deal of seriousness in the situation. He went on to add that she was, herself, a witch, and that her position in Cambridge Academy was secured, when she turned fourteen – all expenses covered.
★ The revelation of Camille’s magical nature was exciting news and all the girl could talk about for days after Eustace’s departure. Her father, unfortunately, didn’t take it so lightly, becoming more severe and unlikeable with each passing day. This took a big emotional toll on her mother, who did all within her power to protect the girl from her father’s outbursts. Camille did not understand why it seemed like her magic had made the man so irritable and she hated seeing her mother in fear inside her own house. The following three years before her departure to Cambridge Academy were the closest she was to her mother, and the most distant she felt from her father. Her relationship with Eustace remained distant up until she joined Cambridge Academy, but a shy approximation was developed in her years as a student – he always displayed a genuine interest and care for her wellbeing and growth as a witch.
✓ intuitive; charismatic; fierce
✗ controlling; envious; self-doubting
☆ OOC — WRITTEN BY CAROL, SHE/HER
